Highlights and prospects of potyvirus molecular biology

Abstract

The potyvirus group [named after its type member, potato virus Y (PVY)] is the largest of the 34 plant virus groups and families currently recognized (Ward & Shukla, 1991). It contains at least 180 definitive and possible members (or 30% of all known plant viruses) which cause significant losses in agricultural, pasture, horticultural and ornamental crops (Ward & Shukla, 1991). These viruses are unique in the diversity of inclusion bodies that are formed during the infection cycle (see Lesemann, 1988). A feature shared by all potyviruses is the induction of characteristic pinwheel or scroll-shaped inclusion bodies in the cytoplasm of the infected cells (Edwardson, 1974). These cylindrical inclusion (CI) bodies are formed by a virus-encoded protein and can be considered as the most important phenotypic criterion for assigning viruses to the poty-virus group (Milne, 1988; Shukla et al., 1989; Ward & Shukla, 1991).